Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 46
Chapter 46
On the way home Li Chengxiu was completely silent. Li Shuo held his hand and felt that it was as cold as an ice cube, and it couldn’t be warmed up for a long time.
As soon as they entered the door, Teacup happily ran towards them.
The chocolate-colored little body bounced up and down on the snow-white floor tiles. It almost looked like a remote-controlled plush toy.
Li Shuo grabbed the puppy and fiddled with his fingers around its nose: “Such a cute little thing.” Then he turned its body and rubbed it against Li Chengxiu’s face.
Li Chengxiu reluctantly twitched the corner of his mouth and took Teacup into his hands.
Li Shuo pulled Li Chengxiu down on the sofa, poured him a cup of hot water and then gently stroked his back.
“Feeling better?”
Li Chengxiu stiffened his neck and nodded.
Just now, he did not even dare to look at Shao Qun.
Just hearing his voice made all kinds of unbearable memories come up. The humiliation and pain were carved into his bones, soaked in blood and could never be erased.
Before that night, Li Chengxiu still had many good memories of Shao Qun. But afterwards, all that was left was fear and hatred.
Li Chengxiu didn’t want to remember anything at all, yet, scarily enough, every word Shao Qun said was clear in his ears and vivid in his mind, reminding him over and over again how pathetic and unbearable he was in this relationship that did not even deserve to be called a relationship.
He would rather completely disappear from this world than see Shao Qun ever again.
Li Shuo hugged Li Chengxiu’s trembling shoulders and comforted him softly: “Chengxiu, don’t be afraid. I told you that you can trust me, okay?”
Li Chengxiu couldn’t help but move closer to Li Shuo, wanting to borrow some of his warmth for his cold body.
Li Shuo was greatly encouraged by this subtle action. He took Li Chengxiu into his arms and gently consoled him.
“Thank you,” Li Chengxiu said witlessly.
Li Shuo kissed his forehead and responded softly, “You’re welcome.”
Li Chengxiu took a deep breath and gave Li Shuo a grateful look.
Li Shuo held his face and chuckled, “We haven’t finished our kiss from before. Should we continue?”
Li Chengxiu awkwardly looked down. Li Shuo didn’t wait for him to speak, instead he lowered his head and kissed his lips.
It was a very tender and lingering kiss. Li Chengxiu closed his eyes and felt the feather-like touch on his lips. The kiss slowly deepened, as Li Shuo carefully tasted Li Chengxiu’s soft lips. This simple but beautiful action conveyed an indescribable tenderness and warmed Li Chengxiu’s heart.
After the kiss, Li Shuo smiled at Li Chengxiu, winked at him and cautiously asked, “Can I stay tonight?”
Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment, and his eyes suddenly showed some panic.
Seeing this, Li Shuo touched his head and comforted him: “I just want to borrow your sofa, nothing else. Tomorrow my assistant should bring over the stuff that we bought. There’s a bit too much for you to handle alone, so since I’m on vacation, I’ll stay and help you unpack everything and clean up, okay?”
Li Chengxiu breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Shuo pursed his lips and smiled. He then suddenly leaned over to Li Chengxiu’s ear and flirtatiously said, “Chengxiu, sooner or later, I’d like to stay over for real.”
Li Chengxiu’s face turned crimson, and his heart was beating like a drum.
He wanted to ask Li Shuo how long they could stay together. But he didn’t dare. Every time Li Chengxiu made another step towards Li Shuo he asked himself if it was the right thing to do or not. And he couldn’t give himself a definitive answer.
How could he know whether Li Shuo was fake or sincere? Shao Qun was also gentle and affectionate at a certain time in the past. And look how that turned out.
He didn’t know how long Li Shuo was willing to accompany him. At the same time, Li Chengxiu was terrified to lose this delicate relationship that they had, because he was too afraid to end up completely alone. As long as he thought of the kind of loneliness and helplessness, which could turn bones into ice, it made him scared to no end.
Both Li Wenxun and Big Li were sweating profusely as they dragged Shao Qun home.
The two of them had embarrassed themselves plenty in front of the Shenzhen people today. After stuffing Shao Qun, who looked like a madman, into the car, they spent a long time hashing out the situation with the mall manager and Li Shuo’s assistant. Only after they had paid out the compensation, they could finally bring Shao Qun home.
Everybody was staring at them, and they both regretted coming all this way to Shenzhen just to make fools out of themselves.
Big Li washed his hands and patted Shao Qun’s face with his wet palm: “Sober up!”
Li Wenxun sat down on the sofa, gasping for breath, and shouted: “Fuck you, Shao Qun! What the hell is wrong with you? The whole jealousy thing is stupid enough, not to mention all the gay shit. You’ve really entertained the crowd. Are you happy now?”
Big Li also sat down and quietly looked at Shao Qun with a sullen face. He then sighed: “Shao Qun, tell me the truth, are you really in love with that little sissy?”
Shao Qun turned around stiffly, stared at Big Li with bloodshot eyes and spat out two words through his teeth: “That’s bullshit.”
Big Li said sarcastically, “So I’ve just imagined everything that happened today, right? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Shao Qun lowered his head and said fiercely: “Li Chengxiu is mine. Whoever dares touch him, will have to pay for it.”
Li Wenxun knocked on the coffee table, and Shao Qun raised his eyes at him.
Li Wenxun looked at Shao Qun with a rare seriousness and said, “Shao Qun, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You are completely unhinged right now. You have to remember well what you should and shouldn’t do as a Shao family member. Why would you humiliate yourself in the middle of the street because of this rabbit?”
Shao Qun said coldly and without any concern: “If you guys hadn’t stopped me, I would have wrecked that Li bastard and also his fucking car. The fucker took what is mine, so we’ll see who will be humiliated in the end!”
Li Wenxun sighed and pointed to Shao Qun’s nose: “Bro, look at me and tell me the truth, what exactly is Li Chengxiu for you? Is this all worth it? Are you really that attached to him?”
Li Wenxun’s questioning had hit a nerve. Shao Qun got enraged and grimaced in denial: “Bullshit, as if I can’t get a dozen like him with a fucking snap of my fingers! I just don’t want him to cuckold me. I’ll get him back and throw him away immediately, but I won’t let anybody else have him.”
Li Wenxun looked at him blankly for a while, then threw up his hands and said, “All right, all right. You have a point, I’ll give you that.”
Big Li dragged Li Wenxun up from the sofa, “Let’s go out for dinner and just ignore him! We’ve been running around up until now and didn’t even fucking eat!”
Shao Qun didn’t notice when the two of them left.
He felt a throbbing pain in his heart, thinking of Li Chengxiu’s back and how he didn’t even turn his head to look at him. Shao Qun felt that he couldn’t just sit there anymore – he needed to find him immediately. He couldn’t admit it even to himself how much he really missed that man. He was Shao Qun after all. He never lacked people to warm his bed, wait on him and cook for him. He just couldn’t deal with Li Chengxiu being with somebody else. Absolutely not.
He’s just… He’s just used to Li Chengxiu. He just misses his kindness. He just misses the time he spent with him. He just feels guilty about what happened that night. It doesn’t mean that he has any kind of feelings towards him.
He just can’t bear that Li Chengxiu doesn’t belong to him.
After a long silence, Shao Qun picked up his phone and called the person in charge of tailing Li Shuo.
“Hello, boss.”
“Well, still keeping an eye on him?”
“Boss, I’m next to Li Shuo’s house right now. He hasn’t come back yet. I’ve been watching for more than four hours, and the lights in the room are still off.”
Shao Qun’s heart suddenly jumped to his throat, and he asked hoarsely, “What did you say?”
Didn’t come back?
Li Shuo left together with Li Chengxiu and didn’t come home after eleven o’clock at night. It was obvious whom he was with.
“Li Shuo really didn’t come home. They took a taxi at that square in the afternoon, and that’s when I lost track of them. So I could only guard his home afterwards. But he hasn’t come back until now.”
Shao Qun felt his chest tighten suddenly, making him unable to breathe.
Li Shuo didn’t come home.
Li Shuo didn’t come home.
He didn’t come home.
He was with Li Chengxiu. It was already so late. Was he staying over? What will they do? They will…
After Shao Qun hung up the phone, he roared and kicked the coffee table far across the room.
He felt that his body was in turmoil – all the organs were being twisted and squeezed. The pain made it difficult for him to breathe, and he couldn’t do anything to help himself at all.
The dimly lit room was empty and silent.
He never realized how big this house was before. But since Li Chengxiu left, it felt so empty that it made him irritated to no end, and this beautiful villa had lost all its charm.
That person who should have been going about his day in this room, the person Shao Qun could hold for warmth, the person who gave him tenderness with abandon…Now this person might be in the arms of another man.
He wondered where they were right now and if Li Chengxiu was acting with that man the same way he did with him. Did he dispel the winter cold for him with his smiles and hugs? Did he cook that man a nourishing soup? Was he obediently lying in his arms? Was he whispering to that man, until he unconsciously fell asleep?
All of these things were originally only his. Why would Li Chengxiu give them to someone else?
What did Shao Qun do to make Li Chengxiu go to another man?
Shao Qun slumped down on the sofa, tightly hugging his head.
He had never cared so much about another person before. He longed for him so strongly that he couldn’t fall asleep. But that person wasn’t there anymore.
How could he admit that he had actually fallen in love? How could he admit that he was repenting? How could he admit that he didn’t even want to get married? Li Chengxiu was already with somebody else. What was the point of admitting all of that?
He tremblingly redialed the previous number and wearily said to the man on the other end, “Keep watching and find out where Li Chengxiu lives as soon as possible.”
Facing this empty big house alone, for the first time in his life Shao Qun realized that loneliness and regret could also turn into knives that were capable of bloodlessly wounding him from the inside out.
The New Year’s Eve had finally arrived with great fanfare.
Only during the Chinese New Year was this city with a sizable out-of-town demographic so extraordinarily quiet and serene.
In the afternoon, there were very few cars and pedestrians on the road, and most of the shops were closed. As long as one had a home, who wouldn’t want to have a warm reunion with their family to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year together?
Adrian arrived at Li Chengxiu’s house before lunch and when he entered the door, he shouted that he wanted to stay over from today until the 3rd day of New Year’s celebrations.
Li Shuo had already arrived early in the morning in order to help with the preparations.
Even though it was just the three of them celebrating New Year’s Eve together, the dinner couldn’t be sloppy by any means.
Li Shuo had a lot of fun assisting Li Chengxiu – a professional chef. He couldn’t stop praising and complimenting him, as Li Chengxiu just shyly smiled.
When Adrian came into the room, he immediately sat down on the sofa with a bucket of pistachios and started watching TV without any intention to help out.
While eating, he muttered: “Oh, Xiuxiu, you’ve changed the sofa! This one is more comfortable. You two really have a sweet life here!”
Li Chengxiu poured him a glass of water and explained, “This is Li-Dage’s house. He wanted to change…”
Adrian smiled cheekily, “Oh, as if he didn’t change it for you.”
Li Shuo came over and said with a grin: “I actually changed it for you, so you can comfortably watch TV, eat snacks, look at us being busy and not lift a finger.”
Adrian smiled shamelessly: “Li-Gege[15], look!” He handed his white jade-like hand to Li Shuo, “I just got my nails done, and it was expensive. How can you let me work like that?”
Li Shuo swatted his hand away: “Since you’re not helping, how about you just eat quietly? Aren’t you tired running your mouth all day?”
Adrian winked at Li Chengxiu: “Xiuxiu doesn’t mind. Xiuxiu is better than you.”
Li Chengxiu guffawed and reminded him, “Eat slowly. This is dry…you should drink water.”
Adrian jumped up from the sofa, hugged Li Chengxiu and kissed him, shouting, “I love you to death! Now hurry up and make me crab fried rice cake! And I want it to be spicy…”
As far as Li Chengxiu could remember, since his father abandoned him and his mother died, he hadn’t had a single decent New Year’s.
As a child, he would secretly cry when he saw other people’s houses decorated with colorful lights. But later he became apathetic.
After so many years, when he was almost thirty, he finally had two new friends to accompany him on New Year’s Eve. The gratitude and joy in his heart could not be described in words.
So Li Chengxiu put a lot of thought into every dish of this New Year’s Eve dinner. He had no other skills, so he could only use this to express his gratitude.
The table was full of delicious mouthwatering food, full of color and aroma.
Adrian jumped to the table like a happy monkey, his eyes glowing with excitement.
Li Chengxiu lived on a relatively top floor. The sound of fireworks would burst into the apartment through the floor-to-ceiling windows. From time to time, bright sparks illuminated the night sky.The rich festive atmosphere lit up the mood of all three of them and put cheerful smiles on their faces.
They sat around the table and enjoyed the food that Li Chengxiu had carefully prepared. Li Shuo and Adrian were both full of praise.
During the meal, Adrian couldn’t help but talk out of his ass: “Xiuxiu, I regret introducing you to Li Shuo! I should have kept you for myself. For real, I can afford to support you too. And because of your superior cooking skills, my life could be prolonged by 20 years!”
Li Shuo laughed and hit his head with chopsticks: “Eat your food!”
Adrian ignored him and put his face right in front of Li Chengxiu’s eyes: “I’m serious! Be with me, be with me, be with me! I will definitely treat you well.”
Li Chengxiu has long been accustomed to his jokes and occasional insanity, so he gently smiled and casually replied, “Mhm.”
Throughout the meal, the three of them were laughing and joking in a peaceful and joyful atmosphere.
After dinner, Li Shuo helped Li Chengxiu clean up the kitchen. Then he and Adrian retreated to the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Adrian immediately started commenting on what was going on the screen, criticizing that this or that was stupid.
Li Chengxiu moved two chairs next to the sofa. One he used for sitting, and the other one to place a bowl with dough. He was preparing dumplings, while chatting and watching TV.
Little Teacup had also had enough food and drink and was sleeping on Li Chengxiu’s lap, from time to time wiping its mouth with its tiny paws, which was incredibly cute.
Li Chengxiu remembered that his family was just like this when he was a child.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, he and his father would watch the Spring Festival Gala, and his mother would sit next to them, kneading the dough and chatting with them. The simple happiness of that time was hard to recreate.
Li Chengxiu felt that this was a New Year that he would never forget.
Shao Qun felt the same way, but this was undoubtedly the worst New Year’s in his life.
